Four ways networks will evolve in the next decade

There is no doubt that the pandemic has created lasting changes in the workplace globally. With businesses now operating on hybrid and distributed work models, network architecture has irrevocably changed and organisations need to modernise their networks and invest in new capabilities.

While networks have always been an integral part of our lives, with the rising need for connectivity, businesses are recognising the importance of networks. In fact, according to recent research by NTT, nearly nine in 10 business executives believe networks are vital for enabling business growth and 81% strongly agree that technological investment will be instrumental to their success. More than nine in 10 executives also strongly agree that network dependency will grow in the next two years.

In a rapidly evolving network landscape, organisations will need to keep up with the pace to stay relevant. So how can businesses stay ahead of the curve and be prepared for the change? Here are four areas businesses should look out for.

1. Network and security will converge

In the hybrid workplace where security threats can happen from anywhere, having security capabilities in place that are able to address risks and compliance has never been more important. With network management becoming increasingly complex as a result of multi-cloud adoption, organisations need to provide a secure connection without affecting employees’ productivity. And to do so, network and security can no longer operate in silos.

Investing in cybersecurity capabilities by working with the right partners geared with the right capabilities will enable organisations to manage the increasing network complexity, and anticipate cyber threats and compliance risks to attain network success; the convergence of network and security will be key.

2. Advancing network maturity with analytics, automation and AIOps

Network automation is already a growing trend, and in the future, we can expect to see even more automation of routine tasks such as monitoring and reporting.

Organisations now require granular analytics for every aspect of their network. Once they have derived insights from their analytics, they want to cue certain actions. Beyond analytics (including automated monitoring and reporting), AIOps clusters large volumes of data across multiple domains and sources to detect patterns and make recommendations. Being able to deliver real-time analytics and the ability to drill down into issues that require attention are seen as the most important areas of network management.

With the ever-changing network landscape, technology is getting highly disaggregated and the number of endpoints and ways to manage them is transforming quite drastically. By adding AIOps on top of automation and analytics, organisations can easily access historical data across multiple points in time, across devices, endpoints and locations, and detect patterns just by looking at the data.

3. Observability and visibility will become easier

Eighty five per cent of business executives have said that a lack of visibility across their network architectures currently restricts their operational insight and causes reactive firefighting.

The convergence of technologies such as information technology and operational technology has not only enabled organisations to streamline many processes, but has also allowed them to keep up with competitive trends and new innovations. By modernising networks, organisations will be equipped with an agile and scalable framework that offers business leaders great visibility over the business networks and will achieve higher efficiency when they are able to readily add new or swapping technologies, according to market conditions. This will make networks more resilient and will enable them to deliver better performance and reliability.

While organisations understand the importance of modernising their networks, access to the right network skills is a major challenge for many organisations. In a traditional network, engineers could mostly work out what to do, but with modern networks being increasingly software-defined, the skill set required can be very different. Outsourcing to a service provider will allow them to manage the end-to-end network efficiently and address the business needs effectively.

4. More network functions will move to the cloud

The cloud is changing the networking paradigm. While the network used to be a legacy issue for many organisations, with little need for interference beyond keeping it stable, there is now a rising need to innovate.

The distributed hybrid work models have presented far more attack opportunities for malicious actors; businesses will need to move to more centralised, cloud-based security solutions, such as secure access service edge (SASE) to better secure their networks.

Investing in cybersecurity capabilities by working with the right partners geared with the right capabilities will enable organisations to manage the increasing network complexity, anticipate cyber threats and address compliance risks. To attain network success, the convergence of network and security will be key.

Networks are the backbone of the modern world. In the next decade, organisations can expect to see significant expansion and evolution of networks, bringing both new opportunities and challenges. As networks become more integrated into our daily lives, it will be important for organisations to stay up to date with these developments and adapt to the changing landscape. By investing in network modernisation, organisations are able to stay agile and keep up with the ever-changing technology landscape.

Image credit: iStock.com/Lan Zhang